Month: October 2013

Ok so the heading was an attempt to make a loud yuk sound, as here’s a photo of what was in the sink this morning. A cockroach, now deceased. (Closer inspection revealed this to be a huge moth. Still yuk, but not quite so horrifying.) That’s one downside of living here, although it’s the first one I’ve seen up close since moving over. Hopefully, the last one too. I see my previous post was about YumYums, clearly our visitor was as enamored of their produce as I was – maybe he came in for some crumbs. Furious cleaning has ensued, there won’t be any relatives coming in for the funeral!
I’m keeping the picture small to spare you the full horrors!

Is the name of the local bakery and I can tell already that I’m going to not have to go there! Look at this cinnamon roll, it’s the full size of a side plate, I put my coffee mug into the picture for perspective… And there’s the roll’s side profile as I much my way through it… Mmm very good.
I’d been into the store once before, it’s in a strip-mall, like a local row of shops, so doesn’t look particularly jazzy. Last visit was justified by a very early rise for a flight. I was pretty shocked to see that not only was the place open, it was packed at 4.30am. Just when you think you’re unique… The important information from the story is, however, that yes, Yum Yums is open 24 hours… Help, send reinforcements!

So I’ve just been for a walk around the neighborhood. I know I’m very lucky to live so close to the beach, usually I’d be cycling on the bike path, but today I ended up walking down there. Lo, and behold, I saw a unicyclist going past! At other times, I’ve seen those recumbent bikes, where people look like they’re lying backwards while cycling. And I’ve put up a photo of the elliptical bike here, which I’ve also seen down on the bike path. Really anything goes, but that one made me laugh the first time I set eyes on it, I don’t think I knew what I was actually seeing as someone flew by on one.

Well here in the US of A, every venue competes for your stomach’s vote and now, yes, even the movies are doing the same. The AMC in the Marina was our local, local cinema – six screens, perfect for that last minute dash to a film about to depart the big screen and it managed fine with offering popcorn, sweets and even tea and coffee for me.
Now, although the AMC is still our local cinema, it’s been completely renovated. It’s plush. The seats are huge. They are actually like LAZ-E-BOYS with reclining backs and raised footrests. Even after you’ve laid back, there’s still room for the wait-staff to walk by. Yes, wait-staff. Because there are little tables, menus and a full bar.
This would require me to think about the film’s subject matter before ordering up some food, there could very well be some incongruous moments. I don’t go to horror films, but would the impact of some blood-curdling moment be lessened as you sunk your teeth into the chicken enchilada?
And could the presence of hot tea in a real cup have influenced my own review of ‘Don Jon’?
Another consideration is how is this all working for the cinema? There are only about one third of the seats in the cinema, more staff taking hushed food orders and hoping for tips and, on the night we were there, some sniggering as the reclining chairs ‘farted’ into various reclining positions.
The food is not cheap, but the fact that it’s there adds to a date-night movie experience.
On the whole, I feel I’ll have to go again before I pass any judgement. Or, uh-oh, get a LAZ-E-BOY chair at home! I might never leave.

This is another of those gorgeous videos of Dublin, this time all around Grand Canal Docks and Irishtown. So it’s here on the blog, mostly for me, for days when I want to see the town from the other side of the globe. The whole place looks like a little toytown. My understanding is that these are actually made of stills photos painstakingly put together to make a video, which is an awful lot of work, but every time I see one of these, I applaud the people who do all the behind-the-scenes splicing work and want to say: ‘Yes, it is all worthwhile – you make my day when I watch’!